The Sound of Rain
by SawyerRaleigh
Summary: After Arashi is forced to switch sides, Fuuma coerces Subaru into letting her stay with him and the two former Seals develop an odd friendship.
1. Part I

"Sakurazuka, got a bit of an assignment for you." Fuuma ignored Subaru's flinch at the name. "Nataku's replacement is going to need a place to stay."

"What does this have to do with me?"

"Need you to give her room and board for a while."

"No." Subaru replied flatly.

"You have plenty of room now and you'll be compensated."

"You know money and space aren't the problem."

"Then what is?"

"My job."

"Believe me, she won't care and she won't get in your way."

Subaru began to protest some more when the door opened and Yuuto walked in, a hand on the shoulder of the newest arrival. His eyes widened slightly. He turned back to Fuuma.

"It wasn't me this time. This was all Hinoto's doing."

Subaru didn't say a word; he knew the discussion was over.

...

"You haven't eaten in at least two days." Subaru addressed the silent girl sitting on the windowsill watching the rain as he stared into the pantry.

"Neither have you."

He closed the pantry door.

Arashi finally turned around to watch him sit at the kitchen table on the opposite side of the room and pour himself more sake. "Are you trying to starve to death?"

"No."

"Then why don't you ever seem to eat?"

"Just doesn't seem to be much point."

She gave him a quizzical stare beneath unkempt bangs, absentmindedly thinking that she should trim them soon. "You've had such a death wish since we first met. Why don't you just slit your wrists or something?"

He turned his hand over and stared at his forearm. "I tried. It seems the sakura don't want to let me go yet."

She wasn't sure if he was crazy or not. Rather, she wasn't sure if this comment was the result of insanity. He clearly had been losing it for some time; that was not in question. She decided it didn't matter either way and turned back to the window, watching the rain slide down the panes in slick rivulets.

...

It was storming again and Subaru was grateful. The rain washed away the blood and covered most of its lingering scent before he got home. He stepped into the house, drenched, and was surprised that Arashi was not at the windowsill, then through the window he noticed a figure outside, sitting under the sakura tree.

"Arashi?" he called from the doorway but knew his voice was blown away by the deafening gale. He could only just make out her form when lightning flashed but realized that she seemed to be unconscious. Raindrops stung his cheeks and the wind assaulted him with small branches and leaves being hurled about the garden as he stepped out to see if she was injured. He was surprised to find upon closer inspection that she was simply asleep. He picked her up and carried her inside, feeling a little guilty though as he did so. He had never seen her this peaceful before.

...

"Sei... shi… rou…"

Arashi jumped and looked over at the couch. Even Subaru's breathing had been nearly silent since he had fallen asleep and she had forgotten he was there.

His face was contorted in pain and he had drawn in on himself, as if by making himself smaller he could minimize the pain as well. She hesitated, wondering what to do.

_Sorata would know._

She shook her head at the thought. She had never met anyone named Sorata; why did that come to mind? And why was there a pang of sadness along with it? She brushed it off and softly padded over to where Subaru was curled up on the couch, watching him writhe for a few more moments before hesitantly laying a hand against his forehead. As she had suspected, he was burning up. She wandered off into the bathroom reflecting that she should have known something was wrong the minute he crashed on the couch.

She returned to the living room with a damp washcloth and knelt down to press it against Subaru's forehead as her grandmother had done when was small.

Subaru awoke the next morning to find that Arashi had fallen asleep on the windowsill. He wondered why she hadn't bothered going to bed last night then sat up and felt the washcloth slip into his lap. He stared at it for a moment, thinking, then put it away and checked the fax machine for any new messages from clients.

...

"May I have some sake?"

"You're underage."

Arashi gave Subaru a Look, causing him to half smile into his cup and poured herself some anyway.

She took one sip and wrinkled her nose. "This is disgusting."

"Yeah."

"Then why do you drink it?"

He stared at the liquid. "I dunno."

Yep, he was nuts she decided and took another sip.

...

"That tree…" It wasn't raining but Arashi was in her usual spot on the windowsill nonetheless.

"Hm?" Subaru murmured into his coffee.

"It's not in season for it to bloom."

"Nope."

"Is it ever not?"

"Not that I'm aware of."

"It's beautiful."

Subaru stared at her from the kitchen and fought the urge to ask if she knew why it was so beautiful.

...

The weather was incredible. The sun was shining, a warm breeze was blowing and only a few perfect cottony clouds drifted lazily through the sky. Subaru felt completely out of place on days like this. Everything seemed a little too bright, a little too perfect and it brought back memories of picnics in Ueno Park with Hokuto and Him. He missed those days sorely but now they seemed too clear, every detail painted in Technicolor, blinding him with the blatant lie it had been all along.

He hurried home, trying not to break into a half-panicked run and breathed a sigh of relief as soon as the door was shut, locking out the invasive sunlight and fresh air. He turned and his eyes immediately went to the windowsill. To his surprise, not only was Arashi not there but the blinds were closed for the first time since she had arrived. It was another moment before he realized he smelled fish and could hear something sizzling in the kitchen. He undid his boots and wandered across the dining room. He was shocked to find the kitchen counter covered in magnificently prepared dishes and Arashi standing at the stove, clearly finishing the last of them, adding a light sauce to it.

"You… cooked?"

"I got bored." She shrugged.

"I see."

She grabbed a pair of oven mitts and picked up the nearest dish, walking past him to take it to the table. Two dishes later though she paused and stared at the small table that had clearly only been meant for two people. Subaru watched her silently then realized what the problem was. He hesitated for a moment then wandered off to the laundry room, returning with an old, slightly moth-eaten blanket and spreading it over the middle of the living room floor.

"What are you doing?" Arashi asked as he returned to the kitchen and started carrying dishes over to it.

"We're having a picnic."

"Indoors?"

"Would you rather go outside?" He winced, realizing that it would be just like back then…

"No." She answered quickly and he suddenly realized why the blinds were closed.

"Then let's eat here."

She hesitated then joined him on the floor, the corners of her lips tugging just the tiniest bit upward.

...

It had been a rough night for Subaru. He had learned to deal with the darker job for the most part now but it was still difficult when it was a child. The little girl had so trusted him too and he betrayed that…

He took off his boots and held his head in his hands, sitting on the floor by the door. After a few moments he realized he could hear someone else crying too. He crept silently to the hallway and realized the sound was coming from Arashi's room. Peeking through the doorway, he saw that she was sobbing in her sleep.

"Sorata…"

Subaru stiffened at the Seal's name and made his way back down the hallway to his own bedroom.

...

"Her memories of being a Seal were wiped weren't they?"

"I'm impressed that you even managed to find me Subaru." Fuuma grinned.

"You and I both know I didn't really find you, you just knew I wanted to see you."

Fuuma chuckled. "Such a pessimist."

"Don't change the subject."

"Yes, Arashi's memories were repressed."

"Hinoto did it right?"

"Yep."

Subaru studied Fuuma carefully, knowing he was treading dangerous waters. "Seems she missed a few spots."

"Oh?"

"Arashi is starting to remember Sorata."

"Ah well. Those you love are hard to forget, aren't they Subaru-kun?" Fuuma brushed a hand against Subaru's left cheek, just below his eye.

Subaru clenched his fist, resisting the urge to knock his hand away. "You put her with me to jog her memory didn't you?"

Fuuma flashed a brilliant smile.

"Why?"

"Think Subaru. Why do I do anything?" And with that he walked away, leaving Subaru with an uneasy feeling.

...

"Arashi?"

They were sitting on the picnic blanket again, having turned their eating style into something of a habit without realizing it.

"Mmhm?" She still had not built up much of a tolerance for sake yet insisted upon drinking it whenever he did now. As a result she was lying on the edge of the blanket staring slightly drunkenly at the cup in front of her.

"What do you wish for?"

"What do you mean?"

"Everyone has a Wish."

"Yeah. I think Kamui said that once."

Subaru was confused for a moment before he realized she meant the Angels' Kamui. "I don't mean to pry but if you don't mind sharing… what's yours?"

She gazed blearily at him, trying to process the question. "I… don't know."

Subaru frowned. She may have forgotten what her Wish as a Seal was but she surely would then have a new one as an Angel, wouldn't she?

"What's yours?"

He closed his eyes. "My Wish was unfulfilled."

He heard the rustle of cloth as she sat up. "But what was it?"

"To be killed by Seishirou."

There was a long silence then, "You loved him didn't you?"

"Very much." Subaru suddenly realized it was hard to breathe.

His eyes flew open when he felt Arashi's hand against his cheek and for a second he thought he saw sympathy in her eyes. However she froze when he looked at her, as if she herself had just realized what she was doing and quickly withdrew and embarrassed, began gathering up the dishes quickly. Between her haste and slight loss of coordination due to the alcohol though she lost grip on one of the plates and it came crashing to the floor, shattering when she stood up. She flushed bright red and apologized, kneeling to gather up the pieces but Subaru grabbed her hand, stopping her.

"Leave it."

"But it's broken…"

He kissed her.

Something tugged at the back of Arashi's mind but she pushed it away, even as she pulled Subaru toward her.

...

Arashi leaned her head against the cool glass, letting her mind wander and listening to the thunder. She heard the front door open and close and wondered if she should say something this time. Before she could make up her mind Subaru vanished into the study again.

They hadn't spoken in days, ever since that kiss that had started so well and ended so awkwardly, both of them unsure of what to do next and eventually just cleaning up the dinner in embarrassed silence. Since then he seemed to have been avoiding her, disappearing into a different room whenever he was home rather than taking his usual place at the kitchen table. She was not lonely per se, but it did feel strange not having his taciturn company. Her presence was not nearly enough to fill the emptiness of the room.

She heard the phone ring but ignored it, knowing it wasn't for her. A few moments later Subaru walked back into the room. "_Kamui_ wants us to meet up with him." He said simply.

"What for?" Arashi had almost forgotten about him.

"Dinner apparently."

Arashi frowned.

"You don't have to go; I'm certainly not going to force you."

"You don't want to go either." She pointed out the obvious.

"Nope."

"Then why are you?" she asked as he pulled on his boots.

"I don't think I really have a choice."

"Why pretend like I do then?"

He turned back to face her for once. "I don't have the energy or the will to fight destiny. But you seem like you do." He turned away again and reached into the hall closet for his coat.

Arashi turned these words over in her mind before sliding down from the windowsill and joining him.

...

Fuuma had wanted to invite them to the destruction of a shrine as it turned out. Arashi immediately declined, in honor of her own upbringing as much as because she simply did not want to be around him. Subaru narrowed his eyes, wondering what games Fuuma was up to this time.

"I thought you preferred destroying the lynch pins all by yourself."

"Not at all!" Fuuma eyes sparkled as he poured wine into Subaru's glass. Subaru did not bother asking how he had convinced the waitress he was old enough to even order it. "You recall Nataku was with me when I granted your wish." He merrily raised his glass. "And your dearly beloved was a wonderful destruction-mate as it were. Treated me to crêpes afterward even. The people that you've both replaced are the ones who generally accompanied me. That's why I came to you two."

God but Fuuma knew how to silence a person.

He left without even waiting for Subaru's answer, knowing all along that it would be no.

...

Arashi walked in a mostly straight line next to him all the way home and Subaru wondered if her tolerance for alcohol had increased somewhat. He couldn't decide if this was a good thing or a bad thing but for the time being was glad for it. It was not until they were back inside and she immediately collapsed on the windowsill that he realized she had been faking sobriety as best she could.

"Hey Subaru?"

"Yes?" He carefully hung his coat up, hoping it would dry out by morning.

"I've realized something."

He froze, wondering if she had finally remembered Sorata or being a Seal or how she had come to Fuuma's side. "What's that?" Would she resent him for not having told her the truth all this time? Would she do something foolish like confront Fuuma? He found himself hoping that she didn't get herself killed trying to return.

"I don't like Italian food."

Subaru couldn't help it. The tension that had built up over the past several days, or maybe really the tension that had built up over the past several years combined with the complete absurdity of such a statement, especially from someone who hated food in general anyway, finally got to him. He leaned his forehead against the hall closet door and did something he had not done in a long time. He laughed.

...

The storm had knocked the power out so Subaru found himself looking around the house for candles, glad that he still had his lighter even though he had not smoked since that day. Arashi ignored him, still sitting at the windowsill watching the wind and rain tear at the garden. She always seemed most relaxed on nights like this.

Subaru found himself rummaging around in the hall closet, trying not to catch anything on fire and eventually just deciding to give up. He flicked the lighter shut and began walking back across the living room, intending to just go to bed. He had forgotten that they had moved one of the chairs to have room for the picnic blanket though and walked straight into it, crashing to the floor with a painful thud.

"Are you okay?" Arashi asked without turning around, watching a large branch from the sakura tree get ripped away and thrown dangerous close to the window.

Subaru sighed into the floor and picked himself back up. "Yes." He more carefully navigated the living room and joined her on the windowsill. When the lightning flashed he caught sight of her face and realized that for a second she looked like she wanted to push him off but quickly relaxed again and turned back to the panes.

"I used to be afraid of storms like these." Subaru remarked, more to himself than to her.

Arashi rolled her eyes. "Were you one of those kids who hid under the covers or something at every little thunderstorm?"

"No, usually I just climbed in bed with my sister if she hadn't already gotten in mine."

Arashi glanced at him. "You have a sister?"

"Had."

She stared at his reflection in the glass, trying not to just turn and watch him.

"What happened?" she asked after the silence stretched on allowing curiosity to get the better of her.

"She died."

"How though?"

"Seishirou killed her."

This time she simply turned and stared at him flat out.

"You mean the Sakurazukamori?"

"Yes."

"The one you were in love with."

"Yes."

Arashi's opinion that Subaru was insane was at last confirmed as far as she was concerned but the look of resignation on his face betrayed a hopelessness that Arashi realized she had not felt since her mother died. The sound of the rain beating against the glass took her back to the stormy week she had spent on the streets before the priestess had found her debating whether or not survival was worth it. She suddenly remembered Subaru's suicide attempt and wondered if he had gone through a similar thought process.

Thunder shook the house and the next thing she knew she'd reached forward for Subaru's hand.

"You always wear gloves, even indoors." She commented, trying to change the subject and tracing her fingers over the soft leather.

Subaru twitched his hand away and stood up. Arashi watched him silently make his way down the hallway to his bedroom then turned back to watch the rain again.

After a few moments though she realized something felt wrong and it took her a while to figure out that for the first time since she had arrived, the windowsill felt lonely. She shifted uncomfortably several times then finally gave up and decided to go to bed.

The hallway was dark though, not lit by the little light she had had from the living room window and she did not see Subaru walking out of the bathroom. They collided and Arashi bounced back into the wall with a small squeak of surprise, losing her balance and tumbling to the floor.

"Ah! I'm sorry!" Subaru exclaimed kneeling down. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." She realized he was offering a hand to help her up and took it, shocked when her fingers met skin instead of leather. She hesitated once on her feet again, not wanting to let go. "Subaru?"

"Yes?"

She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Then the thunder rolled again outside and she felt a little surer of herself. "May I sleep in your room tonight?"

Subaru was confused. "You're not afraid of storms…"

"No." Arashi was glad it was dark because she was sure that she could feel the blush creeping over her face.

"Oh." Subaru hesitated for a moment and Arashi held her breath. "Okay."

...

Arashi was fast asleep peacefully but Subaru couldn't relax. He forced himself to look at his hand on her shoulder. He could just see with the dim light of the wane daybreak the back of his hand, smooth and clear. A tear slipped down onto the pillow. He wasn't Seishirou's anymore. He knew that and it killed him. The gloves that used to hide the scars on the back of his hands had become his way of hiding from himself the fact that they were gone.

"Sorata…" Arashi stiffened in his arms and he realized after a moment that her eyes were wide open. She bolted upright, clutching the blankets to her chest.

Subaru lay still, knowing the floodgates had finally broken.

Arashi gasped for breath and sobs wracked her body. Any other time Subaru would have wanted to take her in his arms but he knew that was the last thing she needed from him right now.

"Why… didn't you tell me?" She hissed, turning to him.

"You wouldn't have remembered even if I did."

She glared and raised her hand. Subaru closed his eyes, waiting for the feeling of cold steel. When it didn't come he opened them again and saw her staring at her hand in horror. "I forgot…" she gasped. "I can't draw it…" She buried her face in her hands.

Subaru sat up, frowning, was this Fuuma's doing too? "Do you want to go back?"

"How can I?" she sobbed. "I can't create a kekkai anymore- I can't even draw the sword. I'm useless to them. And Sorata…" she choked.

"Probably misses you desperately." Subaru said flatly. "And you miss him too; it's pretty obvious that you loved him. You should return."

Her sobs stopped. "I can't go back." She looked up with more determination in her eyes.

"Why?"

"He plans to die protecting me. I won't let him." She looked Subaru in the eye fiercely, wiping away the last of her tears. "Even if you kick me out, I won't go back."

"I'm not going to kick you out, but I still think you should return to him."

"Why?"

"You shouldn't deny him his wish." Subaru collapsed back onto the pillows, one arm slung over his eyes. He was surprised to feel Arashi's hair brush against his bare shoulder as she laid her head on his chest. He looked down at the top of her head as she clutched at his arm.

"Please Subaru, let me stay here for now?"

He wasn't sure if she meant in his bed or the house but either way, he wrapped his arms around her and let her cry herself back to sleep.

...

Arashi stared out the drizzle and pulled her knees up to her chest, vaguely aware that she was cold.

"It's almost the promised day isn't it?" she asked softly. No one had ever said a date but she could feel it coming the way older people could feel a rainstorm coming in their bones.

Subaru sank onto the worn cushion beside her. "Yeah."

He handed her a mug of hot chocolate and wrapped his hands around his own to warm them. Arashi sipped the warm liquid carefully, wondering how much of the heat he could feel through the gloves he had taken to wearing again.

"It's not too late to go back."

"I thought I told you I won't."

"Sorata…"

"Stop. Just don't."

Subaru fell silent but she could tell by his reflection that he still wanted to say more.

"You hypocrite."

He turned to her, surprised. "What?"

"You hypocrite. Here you are trying to convince me to go back because Sorata will miss me." She glared at him. "What about you? Who the hell are you to tell me I should return because someone is worried? You left without a single word. We thought you were _dead_ Subaru! Everyone was worried and you don't give a damn do you? But you know the worst part? You didn't just leave the Seals. You left Kamui."

Subaru frowned and turned away from her, unable to meet her eyes.

"You knew how much he depended on you, how much he needed you- "

"Kamui needs to find his own way." Subaru replied softly.

"Then why did you bother letting him get attached? Why didn't you just leave him in his dream? Why did you let him lean on you, help him, let him start to trust you then run away the second things fell apart?" Arashi's could hear her own voice rising and it startled her but she found she couldn't stop. "You told him that he shouldn't run away, that he should face what was going on and then you up and disappeared. Some role model you turned out to be."

"I wasn't trying to be a role model…"

"Some friend then."

He winced.

"Why didn't you come back?"

"I couldn't."

"Liar."

He closed his eyes and stood up to walk away but before he could take another step, Arashi grabbed his wrist and twisted it, dragging him back. His mug crashed to the floor and Arashi ignored the burn of the hot chocolate that spilled over her arm. Subaru flinched but didn't make a sound. She ripped off the glove, remembering what he had told her about them and held up his hand. "It's gone, Subaru. You're not his property. And you're not _Kamui's_ either, even though you played the puppet so well, taking me in when he demanded it. The only person who can decide what you do is yourself."

"And I decided to become the Sakurazukamori."

She twisted his wrist further. Subaru swallowed a cry of pain. "You know I'm about a millimeter away from breaking it." She pointed out. "Why don't you pull away?"

He didn't answer, still avoiding her eyes.

"It's because you'd have to hurt me to do so isn't it? And you won't do that. You still can't bring yourself to hurt someone else."

"I've killed dozens of people already." He choked.

"As the Sakurazukamori. And you still cry every single time." He twitched. "You think I couldn't hear you? You're a kind person Subaru and it's killing you. You try to be cold and emotionless like he was but you know you'll never really be like that." She applied just the tiniest bit more pressure and his knees gave out.

"Break it if you want." He said evenly, even as he collapsed to the floor. "I won't deny anything that you've said but I still think that you should go back to Sorata before it's too late. Because I know how it feels to be too late."

She released his wrist and clenched her fists in her lap, trying to hold back tears. "How did we get like this Subaru?"

He didn't move, letting his hand fall to his side, still on his knees by the windowsill. "I dunno." He replied, staring straight up at the ceiling.

She threw her arms around his shoulders. "Come back with me." She sobbed into his shoulder. "I… I don't think I can face them alone."

Subaru tried to find the words he felt he should say and realized that nothing he could say would help. He wrapped his arms around her instead.

"I'm so scared to face them. And I'm so scared to leave you alone."

His eyes widened and he pulled her closer, burying his face in her shoulder.

Arashi hadn't cried this hard since she was a very small child, and she felt ridiculous but couldn't stop the tears from coming. "Please Subaru. Come back with me."

She was surprised to feel him nod slightly against her neck and even more surprised to hear the barely audible muffled "Okay."

Through her tears she noticed that the rain had turned to snow and was drifting gently through the garden, turning the sakura tree white as the snow clung to its pink petals.

...

The End! Yeah Maybe some Out of Character-ness but meh, I liked this pairing for some reason. :P I can't decide whether to continue it or not- lemme know what you guys think.


	2. Part II

_Author's Note: Soooo I had originally planned for this story to just be a one-shot kinda thing. But things don't always turn out as planned... *shifty eyes* So as several people requested, I have continued the story! :D This, by the way, I intend now to be part two of a three-part story and I apologize in advance for how it leaves off... *again with the shifty eyes* But there will be a part three, I promise!  
_

..._  
_

The scent of rain had not dissipated. It hung heavy in the air long after the drops had all found their places on the ground and among the leaves, slowly frosting into icy décor as though Nature were dressing itself up for the end of the year. Arashi couldn't decide if she admired the simplicity or scorned the gaudiness of it.

She wondered too if it was dressing up for the end of the year, or the end of the world.

...

Cold white plastic lined the inside of the refrigerator and Subaru stared the emptiness of it, wondering if it was intentionally designed to imitate the winter landscape that lay just outside the kitchen window. He shook his head and carried the last dish out to the living room where the old moth-eaten picnic blanket was spread out across the floor, covered with a clashing combination of dishes as he and Arashi had decided to not waste what was left and simply use it all up at once. She was already downing a glass of sake as if inebriation were a prerequisite to appetite. Of course, Subaru knew that sometimes it was for her so he didn't say a word as he settled down to pour himself a glass as well.

Hours later all of the dishes had been picked at but none were even close to being emptied, save for the bottles of sake.

At this point Arashi had lain down beside the blanket, her hair a dark curtain across the floor and her eyes a little glazed but somehow more alert. She pulled her legs up a little closer, drawing into a slightly smaller ball on her side and stared at the wall behind the couch Subaru had slumped against. She was watching it so intently that at long last he leaned his head back, feeling the room spin a little as he did so, to see what she was looking at.

He had forgotten there was a clock there; he never looked at it. It never seemed to matter what time it was. He watched the second hand tick at what he knew should be regular intervals but somehow it seemed like it waited just a little bit longer sometimes and sometimes it was in a rush to move on to the next second. He briefly wondered if there was something wrong with it but almost immediately realized it was not the clock whose sense of time was skewed.

"You look ridiculous." Were the first words spoken all evening.

It was not the sort of thing that needed an answer though Subaru replied all the same. "What time is it?"

"You're looking right at the clock." She replied with a slight slur, her words soggy with alcohol.

"But I can't tell upside down."

"Well I can't tell sideways."

"One of us should look at it properly then I guess."

"Why?"

Subaru couldn't answer so he contented himself by watching the seconds continue their disjointed journey.

...

Subaru unplugged the fax machine and took one last glance around the room, wondering if he had missed anything. Anything else, he supposed, was a better way of thinking of it. The only thing missing he had heard step outside earlier so he picked up his bag and stepped out into the back yard as well.

Arashi heard the crunch of snow as he approached but didn't turn around. "It's even more beautiful with the snow clinging to it." She remarked. "Although how it's still blooming I can't figure out. It is interesting though, how much paler the blossoms have gotten since it first started snowing."

Subaru didn't say a word but watched the sakura tree with her until they both realized that if they did not leave now they would remain here, entranced by it until nightfall when the spell would only be broken by limited vision. Subaru turned away first.

Arashi followed him around the house to the front, waiting patiently while he locked the front door. She stared at the tracks in the snow behind them and thought of the person standing beside her.

...

The few clothes and necessities tossed carelessly into their small bags did not express how much they were carrying with them. Subaru bought both of their tickets at the train station and they found an empty bench against a wall to wait upon. Neither of them bothered wondering why they had gotten there so early.

People hurried through the station, checking their watches as they did so, fretting that they would not arrive at their various destinations on time. No one seemed to have enough of it. Arashi watched them rushing to and fro, reminded of insects. She found herself absurdly wondering if insects had watches too to tell them when to build their habitats, when to gather food and so on but quickly chastised herself for such a childish thought.

...

The other passengers on the train who were planning on staying on it for a few hours as well had for the most part removed their coats but Arashi pulled hers more tightly around her as if hoping to use it as a shield from the crowd rather than a shield from the cold.

The train's motion was smooth, only soft sways occasionally reminding her that they were moving and she felt as if she were lazily drifting, carried by a river current. The sense in no way betrayed how quickly they were moving toward their destination.

Between the warmth and the gentle motion of the train, not to mention how little sleep she had gotten the night before, Arashi found herself beginning to nod off. She tried to remain alert; she hated in such a vulnerable position as sleep in public. The only consolation she could allow herself as her eyelids determinedly closed the curtains on consciousness was that she was by the window and Subaru was between her and the rest of the passengers.

...

Subaru's eyes flew open, giving him only a moment to register that he had even fallen asleep and to notice Arashi bolt upright from her position leaning against the window as well. Several other passengers gave them both odd looks, startled by their sudden jerking awake but before either of them could even begin to feel embarrassment there was a low rumbling.

Subaru started to stand but was suddenly thrown back into his seat as the ground beneath the tracks gave a violent shudder. A glance out the window told him that the train was beginning to brake but intuition told him it wasn't braking nearly fast enough. A bone-rattling roar outside the window and the flash of a dragon's head snaking across the earth was the last bit of warning before the sound of metal shrieking in protest at being twisted and deformed drowned out the screams of the passengers. Subaru knew the tracks were being ripped apart and braced himself for the crash the train was inevitably hurtling toward.

Then everything went silent. The train had completely frozen in place without so much as a small bump and a few confused seconds ticked by before Subaru turned to Arashi to ask if she was alright.

"It's back." She shakily whispered.

Comprehension slowly sank in. "You put up a kekkai?" That explained why all of the other passengers had suddenly vanished.

Before Arashi could respond, the door to the cabin was ripped off of its hinges and a familiar face appeared with a smile and a flurry of snow.

"Fancy meeting you two here."

They both jumped to their feet as Fuuma strolled aboard. "Off on a weekend trip? Going to do a little sight-seeing in the Neo-Babylon?" he asked nonchalantly.

Neither of them answered, waiting for him to get to the point.

"Things have changed a bit since you two left. But you know how it is these days, things change so quickly now.

"You don't need us Fuuma." Subaru finally spoke up.

"True, I don't. You haven't really done me any good since you joined the dragons of earth." Fuuma grinned. "Of course neither of you have done the dragons of heaven any good either so one does have to wonder why you feel it matters which side you're on."

The verbal assault hit its mark with a breath-stealing blow but neither of the them was about to let Fuuma know that.

"If we're that inconsequential then why are you trying to stop us from returning?"

Fuuma's grin widened and he plopped down in the seat across from them. "Oh I'm not trying to stop you. Surely a little something like an earthquake wouldn't stop you."

"Why delay us then?"

"Because it's not time just yet you see."

Subaru resisted the urge to glance at Arashi and see if she was as confused as he was. He was afraid to take his eyes off of Fuuma even for a second.

"When will it be time?" Arashi asked suspiciously.

"When you're ready." With that enigmatic response, Fuuma rose and meandered back to the doorway then paused with a thoughtful look. "I suppose I could speed things along…" he studied the two of them. "But why rush?" He nodded at the world outside of the cabin. "Nice kekkai by the way. You can let it down though, I have no interest in fighting either of you today. Just wanted to have a little chat."

He left innocuously enough but it was still several moments before Arashi reluctantly began to let the kekkai dissolve.

"Wait." Subaru stopped her. "We should get off the train while we can. Once it's down, the door will be in place again and they probably won't let anyone off once it comes to a stop."

"Why wouldn't they?"

Subaru nodded at the window where snow was piling up, already erasing the scars left by the earthquake.

"I don't want anyone else to get hurt because of us." Even if she could create a kekkai again, they had no idea if Fuuma would come back or if one of the other angels would appear. They weren't that far from the next stop, so he figured they could find a place to stay for the night and find a train or a bus to Tokyo the next day.

Arashi nodded and allowed the kekkai to dissolve as the train disappeared behind them, obscured by thick white flakes.

...

It was a small, out of the way hotel that they found after several hours of frostbitten silence. As the sun had all but vanished over the horizon by this point, they had not had much light to see by and it was only in the light of the hotel lobby that they both realized how blue they had turned, though neither commented on it. Arashi realized that she had been so caught up in her own thoughts, curious about the return of her kekkai and what it meant, that she had not registered how cold she was. Not until she began to thaw that is.

The only room available for the night had one double bed and after some awkward shifting around they both silently agreed it wouldn't really matter considering how exhausted they both were by this point.

Despite a hot bath, Arashi still felt chills as she crawled under the covers and drew them up to her chin. She supposed the unshakable cold was what kept her awake, staring at the wall, even after Subaru had bathed and climbed into bed as well, facing the opposite direction and sleeping as close to the edge as he could get. Every once in a while the blanket would give a small shudder, indicating that he was shivering as well, and she would consider squirming back from her own mattress ledge just to share a little body heat. Then she remembered the last time they had shared a bed and she felt her face warm up even if the rest of her remained cold.

They had come to an unspoken agreement not to ever speak about it again but the memory occasionally resurfaced and Arashi would feel the embarrassment creeping in again. Not long ago she had been a virgin and she prided herself on being pure and focused. Then her train of thoughts had begun to derail every time she was even in the same room as Sorata. Now, at this point she had had sex with not just one but two men, one of whom she was not, and never had been been, in love with. She buried her face in the pillow as soon as the tears began pooling, determined not to let them slip out.

Why had she gone to Subaru? Why did she even want to sleep with him at the time? After asking herself this a million times over she still didn't know what the answer was but she was fairly sure she knew what it wasn't. She was increasingly certain that she was not in love with Subaru although how she knew that was yet another mystery. So why had she gone to him? Was she a whore? How had she gone from innocent virgin to whore so quickly? She curled up in a ball, wishing the thoughts would dissipate into dreams.

The image of the empty train suddenly snuck in behind the self-deprecating beliefs. She had regained her ability to create a kekkai- that was something at least, right? Maybe Fuuma was wrong. Maybe she could still be of use to the dragons of heaven.

Unless she lost the ability again.

A sinking feeling washed over her as that idea struck her. She still did not know why she had lost it in the first place, or how she had regained it. She knew how a kekkai was formed; one simply had to want to protect something.

A soft rustle came from behind her as Subaru shifted slightly in his sleep and she turned over onto her back and tilted her head to watch the soft rise and fall of his shoulder.

One only had to want to protect something.

Arashi frowned. She loved Sorata. She did not like admitting to it aloud because it felt so much like a kind of defeat to allow someone to have that much influence on her, but it was true all the same. Yet she found that after losing her virginity to him that she could no longer create a kekkai. Did that mean that she no longer had a strong enough desire to protect even him?

What about now though? She slowly slipped into slumber as questions blurred together and darkened.

...

The next morning arrived with an eerily blank calm. They both stood in front of the hotel, feeling that the usual sounds of the city were all present but distorted and muffled by the blanket of snow draped over it.

Some bus stations had closed for the day due to the inclement weather but they managed to find one that was open and once again they found themselves en route to Tokyo. This time however, neither of them could imagine falling asleep again, adrenaline from yesterday's attack still fresh in their minds. Their one consolation was that there were few other passengers on the bus and they were seated far away from the rest of them.

"Hey Subaru?" Arashi finally broke the silence that had enveloped them both.

"Hm?" He turned away from the window to face with the glazed look of one who had been deeply lost in thought.

"What are you going to say to Kamui?"

"What do you mean?"

"If he asks where you have been, why you left… how are you going to explain it all? Are you going to tell them we became dragons of heaven?"

"Are you worried I'll tell them that? If you don't want them to know where you have been, I promise I won't say a word…"

Arashi quickly shook her head. "It's not that. I don't... I don't like keeping secrets." She stared at her hands in her lap. "I just don't know how to explain what happened. Especially since it feels like even I'm not sure still."

"Then tell them that." Subaru answered gently.

"But that feels like I'm just avoiding the question."

"Sorata will understand."

Arashi felt a slight catch in her throat at the name. "How do you know?"

"He loves you."

It was a simple and blunt explanation yet Arashi found herself turning it over in her mind repeatedly like a child trying to work out what something does.

It was not until later that she realized Subaru never answered the question.

...

Fuuma was not lying about Tokyo having changed. It suddenly made sense why so few people had been on the bus to the capital city when they arrived. Tokyo was beginning to look like something out of a post-apocalyptic film with whole districts in shambles, buildings collapsed upon themselves, or looking as if they would do so any minute. The only signs of life they saw in some parts were stray cats and dogs, mangy and haunting.

They passed an area Subaru vaguely recognized; that was the building the struggling actress had jumped from. She would not have far to fall now though.

The turned down another street and Subaru found himself staring intently out the window, wondering if the old man's blood still stained the concrete, even though he knew it had long since been cleaned up. He wondered what had happened to the man's family, the repentant daughter he had struggled so hard to make happy, and her own children. He wondered if they had left the city before the area had been destroyed or if their bones were still trapped under the debris somewhere.

It suddenly struck Subaru that there were no spirits. Usually when people died unhappy or unfulfilled deaths it was common for their souls to remain and it had been his job for so long to address those souls that he was quite used to noticing their presences well before he even saw or heard them. Here, in districts that had been suddenly annihilated, giving no warning and leaving little to no chance of survival, there were no spirits. He strained his senses, searching for any sign of them only to realize that not only were there no signs of human life any more, there were no signs that there ever had been.

He suddenly realized that the end of the world was not coming. It had already arrived in jagged bits and pieces.

He turned to face the front of the bus.

...

There were no bus stops near Imonoyama Manor anymore and the subway was no longer running so they debarked and set out with the intention of walking. Not long after the bus had vanished down the road, leaving the two of them all alone in the street however, Arashi halted in her tracks.

Subaru paused after a few steps, noticing that she was no longer beside him. "Is something wrong?"

"Him." She hissed quietly, nodding toward a young man with his hands in his pockets, watching the other side of the street.

"What about him?"

"He's one of the angels!"

Subaru froze, realizing as the man turned his head slightly that he had, in fact seen him before with Fuuma.

Before either of them could move to hide though, Yuuto noticed them out of the corner of his eye.

"Well hello there! What are you two doing back in Tokyo? I thought _Kamui_ had said you left."

After a long silence, he laughed. "You're both so quiet and serious. Are you here to help?"

They glanced at one another. "Help?" Subaru asked warily.

"Mmhm. For some reason _Kamui_ wants this part of the city eradicated but I suppose he doesn't feel like doing so himself today." Yuuto chuckled as if had been asked to run out and buy stamps for a lazy boss.

"No." Arashi cut his laughter short.

"Sorry?"

"I said no." She added a little more loudly.

"No what? You're not here to help? Are you just here to watch and make sure I do the job right perhaps?"

Arashi glared and pulled her hands together, a familiar pyramid-shaped glow forming between them.

Yuuto watched the kekkai surround the three of them without a word, his face a perfect mask of good-natured confusion. "Ara. Surely you don't mean to try and stop me do you?"

"Yes."

Yuuto sighed and reached into his coat. "I'd really rather not do the whole fighting thing you know."

"Then don't. Just leave." Subaru suggested.

"Nooo, afraid that's not much of an option either actually." Yuuto pulled out a pair of daggers. "I'd really rather not find out what _Kamui _would do if I were to disobey a direct order, ya know?"

With that he ran at Subaru with a slash. Fortunately, he easily moved out of the way, lithe with familiarity to the steps. Arashi meanwhile scoured the area, desperate for something she could use to help.

In the meantime Yuuto had continued the attacks and Subaru was doing his best to avoid them but it was clear he had no intention of attacking Yuuto back, especially when Yuuto momentarily lost balance, distracting himself and Subaru merely used the opportunity to get further away. After some time of this pointless dance Yuuto managed to graze his cheek, just below an amber colored eye and something in Subaru was suddenly roused just enough to knock the daggers away, sending them spinning across the concrete.

Yuuto backed off momentarily, expecting Subaru to follow and surprised when he still didn't. He gave yet another nonchalant chuckle. "I see. You don't seem to approve of blade work. Shall I try something else instead?"

With that, a wave of water suddenly appeared behind him as if some invisible tidal wave had been rising up from the broken and twisted wreckage. He flicked his wrist and it crashed around him on either side, barely dampening Yuuto's sleeves but quickly surrounding Subaru who gave a small choke as water unexpectedly began filling his lungs.

Arashi clenched her fist, trying to hold back panic and anger.

Yuuto opened his mouth to comment on the state of his foe when suddenly metal flashed just below his line of sight and something cold nicked the sensitive skin of his neck as he jerked back and tripped over a curb, falling to his backside. He closed his eyes for a wince and when he opened them, saw Arashi standing over him with the tip of a sword beneath his chin.

"Let him go." She hissed.

"Ara. I see. Are you two going to let me destroy this district in peace then?"

She pressed the blade to his skin once more and he felt a thin trickle of blood begin snaking its way down to his collar.

"Okay, okay." He conceded and with a flick of his wrist, the water vanished, dropping from its translucent wall and evaporating back into the air, leaving Subaru to collapse onto the pavement, gasping.

Arashi backed away just enough to let Yuuto stand up and watched him like a hawk as she slowly dissipated the kekkai, allowing him to leave.

As soon as he was out of sight though, she sank to her own knees.

"Are you okay?" Subaru asked, kneeling beside her.

She jerked her head up in surprise, having nearly forgotten that he was there. "Ah! Subaru! Are you alright?"

He nodded through shivers and she suddenly realized he was still dripping wet and the temperature was still well below freezing. "Let's get inside somewhere." She suggested, reluctantly letting the sword slip back into her hand and pulling him into a café.

While Subaru tried to dry his clothes under the hand dryer in the bathroom somewhat, she ordered coffee and after glancing around the nearly empty room, drew the sword again under the table, staring at it in wonder.

"What happened?" he inquired, slipping into the booth across from her.

"The sword. It's back." She answered numbly. She ran her fingers across the hilt. "Except… not."

"What do you mean?" Subaru took a grateful sip of the coffee.

"It's not the same. This is a slightly different sword."

"A different kind? You seemed to know how to wield it just as well as the other one."

"No, it's the same kind, it just has a different feel to it. I don't really know how to explain it…"

Subaru watched her thoughtfully as she examined the sword beneath the table.

At long last she sighed and relinquished the blade, deciding that staring at it could not provide her with the answers she was looking for. She downed some of the coffee then stood up.

"We should get going."

...

As they approached Imonoyama Manor Arashi suddenly felt overwhelmed and jittery. Her steps slowed as her heart began to race and she found herself both dreading and anticipating the next few moments. What was everyone going to say when they saw her and Subaru standing on the doorstep? Would they be happy that they were alive? Angry that they had betrayed them? Confused that they had returned?

What about Sorata? What would he think?

Her heart gave a little skip at the realization that she might actually see him any minute now. That he might hold her again and everything was going to be alright. Especially if now she could create both the kekkai and the sword. Maybe it really was going to be okay. Maybe she could help them again, help stop the destruction like she had earlier with Yuuto. Yeah, it was going to be okay.

She rang the doorbell.

Yuzuriha was the one to throw the door open with a worried expression. "Well? What was it, was i-" She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Arashi standing there. Her eyes widened to about the size of saucers before realization set in and she screamed "ARASHI!" and threw her arms around the older girl.

Aoki and Karen suddenly appeared in the foyer behind her with shocked expressions. "Arashi? Is that really you?" Aoki walked up behind Yuzuriha in disbelief.

"Are you okay hon?" Karen reached around Yuzuriha whose arms were still wrapped around Arashi's waist to rest a hand against her cheek.

The crunch of gravel footsteps behind her announced that someone was coming up the walk.

"Well we didn't figure out what it was but nothing was destroy-"

Arashi's heart stopped at the familiar voice just as it halted as well. Yuzuriha quickly let go so that she could turn around to face Sorata. There was a moment of silence as they simply took one another in, unsure of what to do or say then the next thing Arashi knew, warm arms were wrapped tightly around her, crushing her to his chest.

"Onee-san…" he whispered in a shaky voice by her ear.

She clutched at his shirt as if afraid to let go.

At long last a small cough behind her reminded them both that they had an audience. "We should go inside where it's warmer and… talk I guess." Aoki suggested hesitantly. Arashi saw Kamui nod behind Sorata and started to turn to go inside then stopped. Kamui was looking at her.

In fact, a glance at the other seals told her that everyone was looking at her and had been the whole time. She scanned the yard frantically looking around.

"What's wrong?" Sorata asked, concerned but Arashi was distracted by the realization she had just stumbled upon.

Subaru was gone.

...

_A/N: Been working on part III and omgz. O_O Subaru's shocked even me so far and I'm writing it... Then again in this part he didn't bother informing me til nearly the end that he never actually intended to return sooo. the surprises just keep on coming._


	3. Part III

_Author's Note: Yaaaay! At 20,217 words against my goal 300,000 for the year! ^_^ Also hurray, I finished this story! XD There's an epilogue too, but it's short. I don't know why but it demanded that I post it as a seperate chapter. -_- I guess it thinks it's special._

_.  
_

The elevator didn't go all the way to the basement. Most people didn't even know there was a basement and the people who had designed the building had wanted to keep it that way. Subaru remembered where the stairs were all too clearly though and the dark metal stairway rang out with every step he took, giving not only the sense of descending into hell but announcing one's arrival to the devil himself as well.

Hien and Souhi jumped to defend their mistress the second he appeared but quickly found themselves each alone in a dark illusion with only the scent of cherry blossoms to keep them company. Before she could ask, Subaru explained that he wanted to talk to Hinoto alone.

He knelt down on one knee before her, not to show respect but to make sure they were eye level.

"Why did you erase Arashi's memories?"

"What do you mean?" she asked sweetly.

"Don't play innocent." His voice was as flat as his expression.

"Subaru, you've been through a lot." She reached up to stroke his cheek. "You must-" She gasped in surprise as he grabbed her wrist.

"You're not erasing mine too."

"How dare you." She tried to pull her hand away but he tightened his grip.

"The things that people don't dare to do are those which they feel cross a line. But I've been dragged across lines I would never have even dreamed of approaching and some of that was thanks to you yourself, Hinoto-san. That's how I dare." He paused for a moment to let the words sink in. "So answer me Hinoto-san. What game are you playing at?"

Hinoto drew back slightly. "I don't know what you're talking about."

His grip on her wrist was not rough but firm even as he tightened it further. He inclined his head slightly and the light suddenly caught the amber right eye. Hinoto froze.

"She was in the way." She said at long last in a voice that left one feeling as though they had just been doused in cold water.

Subaru however was undaunted. "In the way of what."

"All of you are."

Subaru tensed as something half-crazed flashed across Hinoto's features for just a split second.

Before he knew it she had jerked her wrist away with a super human strength and thrown them both into a dream.

The sky was a red he had come to know well since taking up Seishirou's position and there was a strange heavy scent to the air like too much was in it and not yet settled. As he watched the horizon, mountains rose and fell as did oceans and civilizations, all of them melting together as the sky blurred through every color imaginable. Rain fell in crystalline torrents and droughts stretched dry tendrils across the earth. Creatures he had only seen in books, and some he had never seen at all, opened their eyes to the first light of day just as morning glories bloom in the morning and met their dusty ends between layers of rock just as children pressed dried flowers between book pages.

Just when Subaru thought nausea at the sudden changing of the scenery would overwhelm him it all stopped and all that was left was Tokyo Tower beneath a full moon.

"What…" he started to ask, still feeling motion sick although he had not moved at all.

"All of that. I have seen all of that. But I have not experienced one moment of it because I was bound to be the Earth's witness. So long as it exists, I exist. And so long as I exist I must watch."

Tokyo Tower suddenly gave a violent shudder and a yawning crevice opened up beneath it, outstretches of rock reaching up to swallow it. In the corner of his mind, Hinoto provided the image of the molten iron being cast that became the beams now slipping into the molten layer of rock beneath the surface.

"It's only appropriate don't you think?"

"You're doing all of this to gain freedom?

"Astute, Subaru."

He turned to face her and saw that there were two of her, the one he had been talking to since he arrived, and another, bound and gagged, lying with her head in the other's lap.

"She would tell you that there used to only be her. That I crept in somewhere along the lines." Hinoto nodded at the one in her lap. "But that would be wrong. I was there all along, she just was better at ignoring me because I was weaker then."

She laughed but Subaru's eyes were locked on the violet ones in her lap that had been watching him all along with a pleading expression he recognized. He had seen it in the mirror often enough.

"You want to destroy the world then? You've been in favor of the dragons of heaven all along?" Subaru looked up and pulled them both out of the dream with an imperceptible nod as he did so.

"Obviously. Why would I want to stick around here in this dirty basement for the rest of eternity?"

Subaru felt the familiar numb feeling he had learned to retreat into setting in. "You have lived long enough to know what the Sakurazukamori is."

Hinoto jerked her head up from her laughter with a sudden rapt silence.

"The one who eliminates threats to Japan."

When Hien and Souhi suddenly found themselves back in the basement they both immediately scanned the area for Subaru. They didn't see him but what they did see left twin screams echoing across the concrete walls, stirring the cherry blossoms that had settled across the floor.

.

.

"Are you happy now."

Fuuma flashed him a Cheshire cat smile.

.

.

As she rolled over one more time, Arashi realized she simply was not going to sleep tonight. She slid out from beneath the comforter and padded out into the hallway, careful not to awaken Sorata, who had fallen asleep with his head on his chest outside her doorway. So much for "guarding" her.

All of the bedrooms were far from the doorway and so she did not worry about making noise closing the front door with an earthy thud before setting off with a crunch through a delicate flurry of snow that dusted her hair and coat as if trying to erase her from the world. She wondered if maybe it was.

She wasn't sure what she hoped to accomplish wandering around out here like this. It was unlikely that Subaru would just happen to be standing around in the snow nearby. Still she wandered down the street, thinking that maybe, just maybe she would find some clue as to where he had disappeared to so suddenly.

She hadn't told Sorata where she had been since she herself vanished from the Seal's. She had expected him to press her for information but to her surprise, he had dropped the subject in an instant when she vaguely avoided his questions. Aoki and Karen had exchanged a worried glance at her reluctance to speak and Yuzuriha had looked as though she was going to press for more information but Kamui had quickly distracted her with the prospect of baking cookies. She wasn't sure which part embarrassed her the most still: the fact that she had betrayed them by switching sides (although, much to her relief, even without her memories she had never actively participated in the Angels' activities), or the fact that she had been… living with Subaru, whom apparently none of them had heard from in even longer.

Guilt writhed in her gut as she thought about how Sorata would feel if he had known about that last part.

After hours of wandering, she discovered she had made her way to the Diet building and stared at it, looming up out of the snow and suddenly something struck her.

_Hinoto. _

She was the one who had erased her memories.

_Why?_

Arashi found herself marching up the cold steps to the glass doors of the building but they were locked, which she realized, after a moment's incomprehension, made complete sense as it was the middle of the night. She shook her head, clearing away the cobwebs of anger and confusion, before setting back out for the mansion. This problem could be dealt with in the morning.

.

.

The next day, Arashi finally sat down with Sorata and told him about how she had gone to Hinoto and the dreamseer had erased her memories. She had been afraid that he wouldn't believe her but much to her surprise, he listened to her tale with a serious, silent look that seemed to chill the room.

When she finished, Sorata nodded. "We know. Hinoto has betrayed the Seals." His gaze hardened as he clenched his teeth. "She had Daisuke killed."

Arashi felt the room spin. "But Daisuke was devoted to protecting her…"

"We think that's why. He was coming too close to finding out what she was up to." Sorata's eyes suddenly softened and he settled beside Arashi on the couch, wrapping an arm around her. "Hey now. It's okay. We've avoided her since then and you're back now with us. You're safe."

_Safe._ Arashi stared at her sword hand, wondering.

"I want to know why." Arashi said flatly.

"Why what?"

"Why she erased my memories… why I lost the ability to create a kekkai… and why I got it back. I want answers."

"I couldn't get anything useful out of her when I interrogated her about you…" Sorata rubbed his neck. "But then I went alone. I wonder what she would do if all of the Seals confronted her." He sighed. "That could turn into some unnecessary violence."

Arashi gave him a level look. "I'm going to see her, whether you come with me or not."

Sorata nodded. "Then I'll gather up the others. Maybe we can get some answers this time." He looked away sadly. "God knows, we could use them."

.

.

"The buses aren't running anymore son. Too dangerous."

Subaru stared at the peeling schedule on the wall. Not a single metro line was still open. Every last one of them had damage somewhere courtesy of the increasingly frequent earthquakes. Trains were no longer running for the same reason. The international airport was still running but the flights in were nearly all empty and the flights out were becoming fewer and farther between. And now winter had hit the city full-force and the remaining planes were being grounded on a regular basis due to inclement conditions.

Subaru wandered back to where Seishirou's old apartment had been. He had thought the man had sold it years ago after the end of their bet but discovered that it still belonged to him upon inheriting everything left to Seishirou Sakurazuka's name.

It was broad daylight, or would be if not for the oppressive shield of clouds stretched across the sky, and yet the streets were empty as he walked. Tokyo, the beloved capital which had once been home to almost ten percent of the whole country's population, was vacant, except for stragglers: those who refused to leave their hometown, those who struggled to find a way out, and those who had not had a home until everyone left and they could take over abandoned flats as illegal but untouched squatters. Subaru found himself vaguely wondering if this was what Chernobyl looked like today. He had heard that people still lived there too, despite the danger.

He also found himself wondering how this had happened, even though he knew more about that than most of the people left.

_"How be it in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to enquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart."_*

Subaru was not stuck here. He could leave if he wanted with or without the aid of public transportation, but he knew when signs had merit. So he found Seishirou's old apartment and settled in to wait.

.

.

When they arrived at the Diet building, the Seals were surprised to find it blocked off with caution tape even though the area was empty. Even the few officials who still worked in the office building despite the evacuations were nowhere to be seen. Tension mounted in all six of them as they made their way down the steps to the basement.

Before they could make it all the way down though, they were accosted by Souhi and Hien.

"Where is the other one?" Souhi demanded, holding a blade just below Karen's throat.

"The other one?"

"The other Seal. The Sumeragi. Where is he?" the bodyguard demanded through clenched teeth.

"We don't know."

"Don't lie!" Hien screamed, desperation raking jagged edges down her voice.

"We don't know!" Yuzuriha insisted, pulling Kamui back away from her.

"We haven't seen him for months." Aoki added, stepping to the front of the group. "Ladies, please, what's going on?"

"The princess is dead."

The words echoed hollowly from the dark concrete walls.

"Hinoto?" Kamui asked hoarsely. "Hinoto is dead?"

"And it was that bastard Sumeragi who killed her."

"No… that can't be. There must be some kind of mistake here."

"Yeah, Subaru wouldn't hurt a fly, much less kill someone." Yuzuriha insisted.

Arashi and Kamui exchanged glances. Neither of them had ever told the other Seals what they found on Rainbow Bridge that day.

"He _did_." Hien hissed. "We both saw him enter before he cast an illusion on us and destroyed the princess…" She swore viciously, cursing Subaru's name.

"Hey." Sorata finally snapped. "Your princess was deceiving you all along, how do you know this isn't another trick of hers."

"She wasn't deceiving us." Souhi whipped her blade from beneath Karen's chin, slicing away a few red strands as she did so to point it at Sorata. "You tried that one already."

"She was lying to all of us!" Kamui yelled. "She killed Daisuke and my aunt and she was probably going to kill you too eventually! You should be glad she died before she could get to you."

Silence rang through the stairwell again. Even several of the Seals glanced at him in astonishment.

"Get. Out." Souhi whispered, shaking.

Kamui opened his mouth to say something else and she lunged.

Inuki jumped in front of her and Yuzuriha, forming a shield, deflecting her blows. None of them had much power as she attacked wildly, blinded by fury and grief, but still it bought the necessary time for the Seals to make it back out of the stairwell before Inuki joined them again, slightly battered.

"I don't believe it." Yuzuriha said tearfully, gathering up Inuki in her arms protectively. "I don't believe it was Subaru."

Arashi fiddled with the edge of her skirt and Kamui marched out of the building, throwing the glass doors open with enough violence to shatter one of them.

"Kamui…" Karen started to run after him, but Aoki stopped her with a gentle hand on her shoulder.

_Why?_ Arashi wondered. _Why did you kill her Subaru?_

She glanced up to see Sorata watching her intently.

"Let's go home." He announced, not taking his eyes off of her.

.

.

There was a windowsill by the window at the end of the hallway on the second floor. Arashi had climbed onto it and curled in a ball, staring out at the softly falling snow, watching the way it erased the footprints left by the Seals when they returned.

Subaru had always made her think of snow. Since that first day that she and Sorata had found him, she had thought of him as something gentle and white.

But not fresh snow. Fresh snow was unmarked, untouched by others. That wasn't Subaru.

She frowned out the window then slid off the seat.

.

.

It was dark when Kamui joined her outside, walking around in the yard, determinedly making new tracks even as the snow fell harder, covering them up almost as quickly as she could make them. Cold, exhaustion, and frustration were beginning to take their toll and she shuddered, pulling her coat closer, refusing to go back inside just yet.

Kamui watched her for a while from the front door. She could barely make out his silhouette in the dusty lamplight but no one else at the manor was that short. She ignored him, hell bent on her own task. She thought perhaps he had been sent to call her inside for dinner, that he would try to stop her. However, much to her surprise, he joined her, following in her footsteps and deepening the tracks. They worked wordlessly together as the night wore on.

At long last, Kamui passed near her and she realized that she could hear his teeth chattering. She glanced up, noticing just then that he was not wearing a coat, and the boy was shaking terribly, his hands tinged with blue as he clutched at his folded arms.

"We should go inside."

The pleading look Kamui gave her made her heart ache but she grabbed his arm and lead him back into the manor anyway, aware that he would make himself ill if he stayed out here, assuming he wasn't already going to be.

The both glanced outside though before closing the door, ruing the still-falling snow.

.

.

The next morning, Arashi padded down the hallway at the break of dawn to peer outside. The snow must have stopped sometime not long after they had come back inside. The tracks were partially erased, but still somewhat visible.

She smiled with relief and curled up on the windowsill, watching them until Sorata approached, sinking down onto the window seat with her, offering her a cup of warm tea. She took it gratefully and rested her head on his shoulder appreciatively as he wrapped an arm around her, kissing her temple.

_Safe. _She realized. _I feel safe here in his arms._

She took a deep breath, letting the scent of his soap, cotton, and something freshly baked, wash over her, bathing her in relief.

"Are you alright?"

She nodded into his shoulder. As long as she was right here, everything was alright.

All her life, Arashi had been trained to be fiercely independent, responsible, protective. She had known it was her destiny to be a guardian of the earth since she was seven years old and had learned to bear that heavy cross with the help of the priestess who had raised her. Things like vanity and leisure time were luxuries she could never afford, luxuries it had not occurred to her to desire.

It was nice though to have them. Sorata thought she was beautiful, and it was a wonderful thing to hear, even if she had been raised with the thought that looks were not important. Some secret part of her was happy, so femininely pleased, that he thought so.

What was more, he wanted to defend her. Arashi was accustomed to fending for herself, she knew she could. Hell, she had lived on the streets, surviving by the skin of her teeth when she was seven; she knew she could handle a rough life on her own. Sorata pulled her a little closer and she thought about how nice it was though, to simply close her eyes and know that it was okay, he would shield her.

Sure, he was goofy in a way that she did not quite understand, having never encountered that kind of happy-go-lucky attitude before, and he did come off as a bit of an idiot at times. But his persistently optimistic outlook and bright smile were infectious and she admired the way he was able to share that little inner glow he seemed to possess with everyone around him. As for being an idiot, he had demonstrated on multiple occasions that this was not exactly true; he was far more observant than he seemed.

"I love you." Sorata murmured in her ear as he stroked her hair. "You remember that right?"

Arashi nodded.

_I love you too._

She did not say it out loud but she was sure that he heard it all the same.

She drained the last of her tea and he offered to go get some more. Without the mug in her hand, it felt strangely cold and empty. Arashi stared at her palm, wondering.

_But if I love Sorata, then why did I lose the sword and kekkai after sleeping with him?_

_And why did I get it back after being with Subaru?_

.

.

He wasn't sure what brought him back to Imonoyama Mansion but under the cover of night, Subaru stood in the shadows near the gates, supposing that he had been drawn back by the desire to make sure that Arashi and the other Seals were still okay. That he had not gotten to Hinoto too late.

So far though, everyone seemed alive and well on the outside. Subaru knew that not all scars were visible to the naked eye but the Seals he had seen seemed healthy at the least and he had seen all of them but one.

Now he watched the last of them wander around, deliberately leaving tracks in the snow. He wondered what Kamui was doing.

And he wondered why it broke his heart to watch.

.

.

As the end of the year drew near, there was the sense that the world was holding its breath, an oppressive silence settling over the abandoned city, the few sounds remaining muffled by a heavy blanket of white.

Arashi had only been back with the Seals for a few days but the whole time it had been quiet. They spent their time gathered at the mansion, restlessly playing games. No one had spoken a word about the coming storm, as if, like the devil, once spoken of it would arrive. So they played games, they baked cookies, they did karaoke together. Anything but talk.

Then, one week after returning, Arashi woke up feeling nervous. She did not often dream, but she had the sense that she had been dreaming about something she could no longer remember. She frowned as she dressed herself, trying desperately to recall what was forgotten but the dream slipped away like water through her fingers, leaving only the damp sensation of what had once been there.

Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted though by a deafening explosion that shook the manor. She ran out into the hallway to see Aoki and Yuzuriha both sticking their heads out of their bedroom doorways, still bleary-eyed from sleep.

Downstairs, she found Sorata and Kamui pulling on their shoes and grabbing for coats. "What's going on?" she asked, joining them.

"The chairman just called. Fuuma is trying to break on to CLAMP campus."

.

.

Subaru had not particularly wanted to come along. He was not sure what he would do here anyway. He had no interest in helping the Seals anymore, it was not as if he were going to try to stop Fuuma. On the other hand, he had no intention of helping him either. He had heard once that bearing witness to an event was an act in and of itself though. He wondered if that was just his role all this time. To bear witness.

He hung back, standing again in the background, watching the ground groan as it was pulled apart at its seams, pipelines and roots twisting from the ground like broken threads.

It came as no surprise that Kamui and Sorata reached the gates first. They usually were the first ones to react. Sorata threw up a kekkai and Kamui attacked first, easily thrown aside by Fuuma. Rusted iron from the abandoned construction site nearby snaked around him, forming makeshift restraints, holding him against a fallen beam.

Then lightning flashed as Sorata entered the ring as well and Subaru was momentarily blinded.

.

.

When dots stopped dancing in front of Arashi's eyes, she blinked a few times, watching the three men swim into view. Kamui was attempting to wriggle out from between twisted pipes as Sorata and Fuuma battled it out, moving so quickly that she could barely follow what was happening.

"Arashi!" Kamui screamed. She hesitated, thinking to join Sorata but quickly decided that he would be alright on his own for a moment.

She drew her sword and ran to Kamui, prepared to cut away the restraints.

_Something to protect…_

Something very nearly clicked into place for a split second, when the sound of Fuuma laughing as something heavy slammed into concrete distracted her. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Sorata pinned to the ground as Fuuma stood over him, looking her way with a sadistic grin.

"Well, well. One of my Angels is here, how convenient. Arashi, I seem to have forgotten the holy sword, think you could do me a favor and take care of this Seal for me?"

"Arashi isn't an Angel you lunatic!" Sorata yelled, only to have his face shoved into the concrete.

"Oh but she is, didn't you know?" Fuuma bent over closer to him. "Where do you think she's been all this time?"

Kamui stopped his struggling to give her a confused but pleading look. "What? What's he talking about?"

Arashi swallowed hard. "I…" The scene fell silent as Kamui silently begged her to deny it, Fuuma gave her an expectant smile and Sorata struggled to get out from under his foot.

"I did join the Angels when I lost the ability to create a kekkai." She said at long last. "But I never helped him."

"And I always let you get away with slacking off like that now didn't I?" Fuuma grinned. "But now I need your help, so as I said before, Arashi, come finish off this Seal."

Arashi took one look at Sorata, bruised and bloody and shook her head. "No. I don't work for you."

"You refuse to obey my orders?" Fuuma raised an eyebrow.

"Yes."

He laughed. "So you betrayed your own side by abandoning them and switching and now you won't help this side either?"

She shifted uncomfortably. "I-"

Fuuma moved quickly and unexpectedly, twisting her wrist until she was forced to drop the sword with a cry of surprise and pain. He easily took hold of the hilt, something only she was supposed to be able to do, and shoved her against the gates, pinning her there with her own blade.

"If you are just going to be a traitor to every side you join, then what good are you?" He demanded.

Arashi stared back at him in shock until he let go over her, stepping back just far enough to draw back the sword and plunge…

She screwed her eyes shut, then snapped them back open again at the sound of a sickening squelch.

"Sorata!" Kamui shrieked.

Looking down, she saw the tip of her sword, hovering a few inches away from her chest, covered in blood and she could not quite work out where the blood was coming from if it had not reached her yet. Then her eyes trailed down the blade and took in Sorata standing in front of her, gripping the blade near the hilt so hard that his knuckles were turning white.

"Got…cha." He choked with a small laugh, even as blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth.

Lightning flashed again, crackling from his fingertips and dancing over the sword that Fuuma was still gripping. Fuuma leapt back, letting go, but not quickly enough. He staggered for a moment and Arashi realized that he was badly burned on most of the right side of his body from what she could see. He swore viciously, clutching at his limp arm.

"Fine. Out of respect for your wish to die protecting her, I'll leave Arashi be." He flashed Kamui a forced smile. "But I'll be back for you someday."

"Bastard!" Kamui yelled after him, struggling harder against the pipelines even as Fuuma disappeared.

Arashi ignored all of it, falling to her knees next to Sorata, now sprawled across the broken and charred concrete as blood stained the dirty patches of snow scattered around them. She gingerly touched his cheek and his eyes fluttered back open, raising a hand to her face as well.

"Sorata-san…" Her throat closed as tears welled up, beginning to slip down her cheeks.

"Sorata-san, I'm so sorry… It's my fault, I should have…"

"Shh." The kekkai began to dissolve, disappearing in jagged pieces.

She pressed her cheek to his hand, holding it there tightly. "Don't go… Please…"

He gave her a wavery smile. "It's alright. I always knew, remember? That I would die for the sake of a woman." He gave her hand a weak squeeze. "I'm so glad… that it was you."

"Sorata…"

"You are… so beautiful…" he gasped.

She choked and clutched his hand. "I…"

His eyes slowly fell closed.

"…love you…"

A smile tugged at the corners of his lips even as his hand went limp in hers.

For a moment she was quiet, barely breathing herself. Then reality sank in and she began to sob.

.

.

"So that's your game? That's how you destroy the dragons, one by one?"

Fuuma merely flashed him a smile before returning his attention bandaging his arm.

"You know, the greatest strength of humans is their ability to love one another. It's their greatest weakness too."

.

.

Kamui knocked on her door as Arashi stuffed the last of her few belongings into a backpack. He glanced around the clean, empty bedroom without surprise even though she had not announced her decision to the Seals.

"Where will you go?" He asked hollowly.

She didn't answer, busy double checking the dresser drawers.

"Back to where Subaru is?"

She looked up at him.

"You know where he is, don't you? You said you became an Angel when you lost the ability to create a kekkai. Subaru lost it too. He's an Angel too now isn't he?"

Arashi nodded.

"I don't understand though. The day you came back, we could have sworn we felt your kekkai."

"I got it back for a while."

"Why?"

She had thought about this herself, among other things, nonstop for the past several days.

"Because I wanted to protect Subaru." She wasn't sure if this was true, but the conclusion she had drawn was the best she could do when it came to reconciling what had happened.

"Protect…" Kamui paused. "Do you love Subaru?" He asked bluntly.

Arashi had wondered this too.

"Not like I loved Sorata." She replied softly, staring at the top of her backpack where her hand lay, remembering the feel of his hand in hers. She sighed and closed her eyes, blocking out the memories as she pulled the backpack on.

"Could you… give Subaru a message for me?"

Arashi stood in front of Kamui, giving him a level look as he blocked the doorway. "It would be better if you forgot Subaru." She told him before brushing past and leaving the mansion.

.


	4. Epilogue

Epilogue

.

It had been raining for thirty-nine days now. If the Sakurazuka's old house had not been built on a hill, it would have long ago flooded. As it was, the sakura tree was drowning, its blossoms fading to a sickly white as the yard began to resemble a lake more than a lawn.

Arashi stared out the window as Subaru sat down beside her and handed her a cup of sake. She threw it back like a shot and held the glass out for more.

Subaru obligingly refilled her glass and took a sip of his own, staring outside as the rain beat down on the windowpane as though begging for entry.

"The world ends tomorrow." He said with quiet certainty.

Arashi shook her head. "The Earth ends tomorrow."

Subaru glanced at her out of the corner of his eye as he took another sip.

"The world already ended. For both of us."

They stared out the window in silence, with only the sound of rain to keep themselves company.


End file.
